January 26, 1995 Contact: Barbara McKenna (408/459-2495)

NEH GRANT WILL HELP PRESERVE AGING DOCUMENTS ON THE STELLAR HISTORY OF UC SANTA CRUZ'S LICK OBSERVATORY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SANTA CRUZ, CA--Portions of the aging archive of the country's oldest mountaintop research observatory will be preserved through a $75,944 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The grant will fund microfilming and computer indexing of holdings in the Mary Lea Shane Archives of the Lick Observatory, housed in the University Library at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

The grant, which names librarian Rita Bottoms as project director, will be used to microfilm the journals, copybooks, and correspondence of early directors, astronomers, and others at the observatory from 1875 to 1937, including founder James Lick and others instrumental in planning and constructing the observatory. The grant also supports the conversion of the archive indexes into computer form, which will then be accessible on the Internet.

A part of the University of California since its inception, the 107-year-old observatory has been affiliated with UCSC since 1966. The archive, first organized by astronomer Mary Lea Shane in the early 1960s, was transferred from the observatory to the University Library's Special Collections department in 1969. Since its transfer, the archive has been available for public viewing. "This material is a rich treasury for students of the history of astronomy," says curator Dorothy Schaumberg. "But many of the materials are over 100 years old and in heavy use by researchers. They are fragile and deteriorating." Once on microfilm, the original material will be stored in a temperature-controlled vault in Special Collections.

The archive documents many bright moments in the observatory's history, including the discovery of Jupiter's fifth satellite by Edward Emerson Barnard in 1892. "This was earthshaking news," says Schaumberg. "The first four satellites were discovered by Galileo in the early 1600s." Lick astronomers also collaborated with astronauts during a 1969 moon walk to determine the precise distance between the earth and the moon and to confirm that the moon is gradually moving away from the earth.

The archive is available for public viewing by appointment only. To make an appointment, call (408) 459-2571.

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